Pompeo Looks Away as Saudi Embassy Kidnaps WaPo Journalist in Turkey

We can’t be ruining our diplomatic ties to the Saudis now can we?

-On Tuesday, Khashoggi, a Saudi national and Washington Post columnist, entered the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul to pick up documentation to get married. His fiancee, who was waiting outside, told the New York Times that he had not emerged hours later, and he has not been seen since.

-Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who is also a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, said that the move called into question the relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States. “If he has been taken by the Saudi government, it’s absolutely unacceptable and a further sign that this crackdown on free speech is getting more serious.”

-He added that it is “another reason why we should probably be rethinking the political and military blank check we’ve been giving the Saudis.”

– (the prince) Salman’s brutal treatment of his internal critics was enabled by a well-funded and orchestrated public relations campaign in Washington, D.C.

-That campaign was largely directed by Yousef al-Otaiba, ambassador to Washington from the United Arab Emirates, which backed Salman’s rise.

-The day after the journalist disappeared, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo talked with the Saudi crown prince about the war in Yemen, Iran, and “areas for expanding U.S.-Saudi collaboration,” according to a State Department readout of the call. The readout did not mention anything about Khashoggi’s disappearance.

-Khashoggi initially entered the consulate on Friday and was told to return on Tuesday afternoon to pick up his documents. Some of his friends believe he was secreted out almost immediately, before Turkish police could intervene. His fiancee accompanied him to the consulate to wait.